TMC MP Mahua Moitra responds on allegations of her maiden speech was plagiarized

New Delhi, July 3: Trinamool Congress (TMC) Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra on Wednesday responded to media on allegations that her maiden speech in Parliament was plagiarized.

A shrill maiden Rajya Sabha speech by TMC MP Mahua Moitra which earned high praise from the liberals is now facing charges of plagiarism. In her speech Moitra made a pointed attack on the Narendra Modi led BJP government using "7 signs of fascism".

Reportedly, she said "It is with great dismay that I note that some sections of the press are pointing to a January 2017 article in the Washington Monthly which spoke of the early warning signs of fascism in Trump's America and accusing me of "plagiarising" the same without verifying the facts."

She further added, "Plagiarism is when one does not disclose one's source. My source as mentioned categorically in my speech was the poster from the Holocaust Museum created by the political scientist Dr. Laurence W. Brit pointing out the 14 signs of early fascism. I found 7 signs relevant to India and spoke at length about each of them." "The Washington Monthly article also quotes from the same poster and uses 12 of the 14 signs . Early fascism today is a global fear with the advent of right wing national leaders and these principles are equally applicable in many countries today, " says Moitra.

Moitro also said to the press that- "This is a clear attempt by the troll army of the BJP and certain media houses owing allegiance to the ruling party to obfuscate the real issues. My speech came from the heart and every Indian who has shared it did so from their heart. The hits were organic, not BOT controlled. I repeat.."Bandhney mujhey tu aaya hai? Zanjeer badi kya laya hai? "

Earlier, the speech was already being criticised in various quarters for peddling hysteria and doomsday, a fresh charge of plagiarism has been levelled against Moitra.

As claimed by various social media users, the "7 signs of fascism" and how they apply to the Modi government, were not Moitra's original thoughts but were merely lifted from a 2017 article in Washington Monthly, which compared "12 early warnings of fascism" and how US President Donald Trump was ticking the boxes.